Some Martin County students earn two degrees while in high school

MARTIN COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - Some Martin County high school students are working on obtaining their high school diplomas and taking classes to earn an associate’s degree and that high school diploma.

During the pandemic, instruction has been unlike any other school year with virtual learning mixed in with in-person instruction.

But students at the Northeast Regional School of Biotechnology and Agriscience (NERSBA), an early college high school, are participating in in-person labs working toward their associate’s degree. The students aren’t letting the pandemic stop them from earning a college associate’s degree in science in agriculture from the University of Mount Olive.

Sophomore Peyton Ward said, “So, we can go ahead and prepare for college life when we get there on campus.”

“I think it’s pretty neat because it’s pretty hands-on and you get to learn a bunch of stuff that some schools don’t offer,” Sophomore Morgan Barnes said.

Michele Spence, an Instructor at the University of Mount Olive, touts an early start’s benefits. She said, “Well, it gives them a head start. So instead of just having a general associate degree, they have one that’s guaranteed to go into the university and transfer them into one of the agriculture degrees.”

NERSBA is one of three early college high schools where Mount Olive is offering this program.